Help! I can't find the CANCEL button on my brokerage account!

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Do you know what it's like to wake up at 9:25 AM after going to sleep at 6 AM? I call it brain burn. It feels like heartburn but it starts at the vertex of your skull and slowly seeps down the front of your brain into your eyesockets where it collects and sears your retinas every time you try to open your eyes.

I was suffering from a bad case of brain burn this morning when I logged into my brokerage account to dump my entire investment in Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, a frighteningly unstable debt-ridden baby biotech. Out of the 100 or so small cap biotechs I closely follow, I had inexplicably selected MIPI as the best place to deposit ten grand and my "investment" had almost immediately submerged itself like a frightened angler fish. For once, fortune allowed me an escape from a dubious decision as the share price more than doubled after hours yesterday on positive results from a trial whose existence I hadn't uncovered in my due diligence (maybe I should cut that database down to 50 biotechs).

Satisfaction and relief at that development was enough to dull the pain of being kept an hour late on my night shift at the emergency room. I didn't mind the patient comment card that approved of my bedside manner but complained I was too short for her taste, or the 21 year old girl on her 9th ER visit this year for different complaints who refused to be discharged until I could do a test which showed the cause of the dull headaches she had been having for two years (she refused my offer of an IQ test). I couldn't even resist sharing my good fortune with my scribe, a poor college kid who makes about a 20th of what I do for the thankless job of transcribing my inane observations into the patient's electronic chart. I told him I was a big time investor and my stock was up huge after hours. "Wow," he said. "Who do you get your ideas your ideas from?" I bristled a little at that. "I don't. Other people get their ideas from me!" That was a bald-faced lie of course. Half my portfolio is cribbed from top CAPS players.

So there I was at 9:30 on Ameritrade watching MIPI actually opening 170% up at 4.04 (I had half expected the entire phenomenon to run its course in the after-hours and pre-market). I punched open the trading window and saw the bid was already down to 3.85. My profits flashed before my eyes and I frantically entered a limit sell at 3.8, which closed immediately (if you haven't used Ameritrade, I can tell you that the sale will close at whatever lower limit you enter regardless of where the bid happens to be at that moment). By the time I'd wiped the sweat from my brow, the real-time price was back over 4 and had approached 4.5 within minutes. I'd given up $3500 of my profits.

No worries, I thought. I'm still within the 20 minute cancel window that CAPS taught me about. I can just cancel that lousy trade, get my MIPI shares back, and sell them again at 4.5. But try and try and try as I might, I couldn't find the button to cancel the trade and sell my shares again at a better price. What gives?

Gotta LOVE and HATE those CAPS do-overs. I've shorted myself more than I've gained by trying to play the 20 minute rule. Great job, lucky or not! What you told your "scribe" was very much true.....we crib from you as well! :)

Book 'em however you can get them. I can relate to watching too many at one time as well. MIPI can't decide where to settle. I'm hoping that ABK settles back to $0.70 by Friday at 4PM, but I wish MIPI all the best, (below my CAPs entry point for the week)..... :)

Now that I know you're an ER Doctor, I understand why you might enjoy the excitement of investing in biotech. I don't have enough knowledge on my own to tell when a biotech prospect is snake oil and when it is the next medical breakthrough. My husband who teaches electrical engineering has quite an interest in medicine. He even got certified to read EKG's and designed his own EKG machine to work off his laptop. Evidently the heart's electrical system fascinates him. Although biology is not his field, he can generally tell me if certain claims are too kooky or bad science.

If the 21 year old girl comes back to the ER for the 10th time, find out whether she has a pet. (I imagine that she is lonely and afraid and finds your no-nonsense manner a comfort. Cats exude confidence and when they are in the mood can be friendly.)

I'm kicking myself over not buying BSI when it was around $9 a share since the last I checked it was around $13. The day I wanted to buy it went up.

ZZ - I know you're more into talking about biotechs but I've got a "related field" question. What do you think about AVCA, long term care in mostly your neck of the woods. A lot of insider purchases at the $6.50 range. Any thoughts?

ZZ - I know you're more into talking about biotechs but I've got a "related field" question. What do you think about AVCA, long term care in mostly your neck of the woods. A lot of insider purchases at the $6.50 range. Any thoughts?

I don't miss anything Feuerstein writes. If you play biotech and you don't follow him, you're throwing away money. I'm strongly considering Jan 2011 puts on Cell Therapeutics, but I'm hoping for one more burst in the share price to get the put price below 50 cents. As baby biotech froths, I'm finding fewer and fewer GBMB's and more and more exciting put possibilities. Delcath, Intermune, and no doubt many more to come. Fun times ...

ZZ noticed the drop in BDSI due to small dilution. I have been following since your recommendation and did start in with a small position. Any thoughts on this as an entry point? Thanks for any insight.

So you closed MIPI at 3.8...today's current price...2.36...now you're smiling I bet.

I'm sure you know, but not getting any sleep is indeed giving you "brain burn"... if the price was 3.85 and you were willing to sell at 3,8, you should have entered a "stop" price at 3.8, not a "limit" price...the limit of course executed since it had reached 3.8 before your order. "stop" executes when the current price at order time is above and falls down to (or below) 3.8.

Sleep deprivation is terrible for people, even very smart and highly educated people. Hallucinations, "brain burn" etc. I've read that mushers in the Iditarod race who get even less sleep than you seem to, tie themselves to their sleds while their dogs sleep (rest) so that they don't wander off and get lost in the woods.

I think you're right to be thinking "short" side investing in the current markets...Just make sure you tie yourself to your sled!

Can you write a post on how do you closly track the latest news on 200 companies and maintain a database of information on these stocks? It seems like an impossibly large task on a daily basis. Thanks.

Well, I employ a team of magical elves that does most of the research, and I have a talking mirror that tells me when to invest. All these products are available through my website for the low price of $19.99, shipping and handling not included.

Well, I employ a team of magical elves that does most of the research, and I have a talking mirror that tells me when to invest. All these products are available through my website for the low price of $19.99, shipping and handling not included.

I hit the "Report his comment" link, but couldn't find an option for "Funniest Investment Guidance Ever!"